PORT ANGELES — The Blockbuster Video closed and reopened just a few days later as the Movie House — owned and operated by a Port Angeles couple.
Steven Hoyt started at Blockbuster when it opened in 2003 as an assistant manager and was promoted shortly thereafter to manager.
The Blockbuster franchise was owned by Clay Bohms and Associates in Bellevue, which decided about a year and a half ago that it was too expensive to run long-distance, Hoyt said.
“They had other businesses that were booming, and this was really the only Blockbuster they were doing,” he said.
“So they suggested that I might buy them out and be the owner.”
The Blockbuster closed Jan. 31 and reopened Feb. 5 as the Movie House.
Hoyt signed papers last week to be the new official owner.
First the group looked into Hoyt running it as a Blockbuster, but he didn’t qualify to be a franchise owner, he said.
“So I thought, ‘Why not be independent, do your own thing, and not have to pay some corporation a chunk of your revenue every year to be able to put their name on the front?'” he said.
So he and his wife, Donna, decided to run it as an independent operation.
“I have been running this since 2004, basically, and I know what I’m doing,” he said.
“In some ways, this is even better than before because now we can look things up a lot faster instead of having to call the vendor about when things are coming in.
“Everything else will stay about the same — so it will be the same and a little better for customers.”
Hoyt said he is confident the business will survive independently.
“For our current customers, it was practically a seamless transition,” he said.
“And for others, a lot of people really like to support the hometown businesses rather than the big corporations, so I think this will be a good move.”
He said roughly half of the customers use the monthly movie pass, a feature that has carried over into the new business.
The pass allows customers to keep one movie at a time out for $15 per month, two at a time for $25 and three at a time for $30.
The pass allows the customer to make unlimited checkouts and returns.
“That is a really popular feature,” he said.
Hoyt said he can’t imagine a better job than owning his own movie store.
“I’m just a huge movie fan,” he said.
“I love the customer service.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
